peeta mellark ༄

8. wish away the pain

lyrics, downer by nirvana

the canon overhead snapped you from your dissociative state of despair. rue was dead.

squeezing your eyes shut, you let out a loud, guttural sob. at that moment you didn't care that the whole world was watching.

your racing mind wandered, to just yesterday, to this morning. before you stood before rue's cold body, you woke up next to her in the hidden safety of green bushes just yesterday.

you put your hand to your mouth in a yawn, standing up and being sure to be quiet as to not wake rue just yet.

first, you checked the traps. there was a small wood mouse caught, and the others were empty. no signs of any other tributes, yet.

how many days has it been? four or five by now, counting the time you were out from the tracker jacker stings.

i'm lucky, you thought. to have survived this long. and you were lucky to be blessed with the proper survival skills and intuition for the arena.

you untangled the bloody mouse from the snare, holding it by the tail as you went back to rue. she was still sleeping. you sat next to her, waiting for her to wake up so you could cook the mouse. you decided she could eat it. she needed it more. besides, you'd catch something else eventually.

you watched the steady rise and fall of her chest, she way she squirmed in her sleep to get comfortable against the very uncomfortable fallen tree.

once more, a wave of sadness washed over you, something that commonly happened recently. you were sad to think that, soon, the girl in front of you would be dead within a few days, at least. she was smart. sharp as a tack, quick as a fox. but she was just a weak child.

suddenly, an overwhelming emotion flooded your senses. you felt protective, like an elder sibling tasked to watch after their younger ones. you had only known rue for a small time, but you have been around her long enough now to know that she did not deserve what was happening. she deserved to be home, with her family, in her district. not in an arena forced to kill or be killed. you doubted she would ever hurt a fly, and that would kill her.

she was probably the kindest, most innocent and worthy tribute of the ones remaining. she was young. she should go home.

i will help her go home, you thought desperately.

rue's breath broke you from your thought. she was waking now, her eyelashes fluttering and her moving becoming more frequent. finally, her eyes opened and you were the first thing she woke up to.

"rise and shine," you greeted wittily. she smiled, and rubbed her eye. like she was woken up in her house to her mother hovering over her with a smile. oh, you wished that for her.

"is it early?" she asked first.

you pointed up. "sky's still orange. so, yeah."

she sat up, and you reached forward to pick the leaves and bark from her hair.

rue gestured to your hand. "what's that?"

you held up the mouse by it's tail. "your breakfast," you told her with a smile. her eyebrows furrowed slightly. "well, what about you?"

you felt your heart melt at her thoughtfulness. hiding your thoughts, you shrugged. "i'll manage," you replied simply.

rue seemed hesitant, but she nodded. you helped her stand u0, and grab her things. you walked out for a few minutes before stopping to start a fire to cook the mouse.

"you wanna try?" you offered, holding out a match to rue. she blinked, slowly taking it from your hands as if it would burn her, despite it being unlit.